'sent*! 
"»n 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


ADDRESSES 


PRESENTATION  OF  THE  SWORD 


GEN.  ANDREW  JACKSON 


CONGRESS  OF  TIIK  UNITED  STATES. 


ADDRESSES 


PRESENTATION  OF  THE  SWORD 


GEN.  ANDREW  JACKSON 


CONGRESS  OF  THE:UKITE])  STATES, 


DELIVERED 


IN  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


FEBRUARY  26,  1855. 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED  BY  A.  O.   P.  NICHOLSON. 
1855. 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  EEPEESENTATIVES. 
MONDAY,  February  26,  1855. 

Ordered,  That  one  hundred  thousand  copies  of  the  proceedings  and  speeches 
in  the  Senate  and  House  of  Kepresentatives,  upon  the  presentation  of  the  sword 
of  General  Jackson,  be  printed,  under  the  direction  of  the  Clerk  of  the  House. 


PRESENTATION 

OF  THE 

SVOKD  OE  GENERAL  JACKSON. 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
MONDAY,  February  26,  1855. 

Mr.  SHIELDS,  of  Illinois,  rose  and  said: 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  hour  has  arrived  which  has  been 

designated  for  a  very  interesting  ceremony.     It  is  one 

\^     in  which  ladies  take  as  deep  an  interest  as  gentlemen, 

^t     but  the  crowded  state  of  the  galleries  excludes  many 

of  them  from  the  Chamber.     A  motion  to  suspend  the 

%    rule  which  limits  admissions  to  the  floor,  so  that  those 

»     who  are  now  excluded  may  be  permitted  to  be  present, 

»}    I  think  will  meet  with  general  acceptance ;  and,  there- 

x     fore,  I  submit  that  motion. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to ;  and  many  ladies  were  admitted 
to  seats  without  the  bar. 

Mr.   CASS,  of  Michigan,  then  addressed  the  Senate  as 
follows : 

rMr.  PRESIDENT:   I  must  ask  the  indulgence  of  the 
^     Senate  for  requesting  that  its  usual  business  may  be 
suspended,  in  order  to  give  me  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
charge a  trust  which  has  been  committed  to  me — a 

.358679 


trust  I  had  not  the  heart  to  decline,  but  which  I  knew  I 
had  not  the  power  to  fulfil,  as  such  a  mission  should  be 
fulfilled.  I  hold  in  my  hand  the  sword  of  General 
JACKSON,  which  he  wore  in  all  his  expeditions  while  in 
the  military  service  of  the  country,  and  which  was  his 
faithful  companion  in  his  last  and  crowning  victory, 
when  New  Orleans  was  saved  from  the  grasp  of  a 
rapacious  and  powerful  enemy,  and  our  nation  from  the 
disgrace  and  disaster  which  defeat  would  have  brought 
in  its  train.  When  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him, 
General  Jackson  presented  this  sword  to  his  friend,  the 
late  General  Armstrong,  as  a  testimonial  of  his  high 
appreciation  of  the  services,  worth,  and  courage  of  that 
most  estimable  citizen  and  distinguished  soldier,  whose 
desperate  valor  on  one  occasion  stayed  the  tide  of  In- 
dian success  and  saved  the  army  from  destruction.  The 
family  of  the  lamented  depositary,  now  that  death  has 
released  him  from  the  guardianship  of  this  treasure  of 
patriotism,  are  desirous  it  should  be  surrendered  to  the  » 
custody  of  the  national  legislature,  believing  that  to  be 
the  proper  disposition  of  a  memorial  which,  in  all  time 
to  come,  will  be  a  cherished  one  for  the  American  peo- 
ple. To  carry  that  purpose  into  effect  I  now  offer  it 
in  their  name  to  Congress. 

Mr.  President,  this  is  no  doubtful  relic,  whose  iden-     • 
tity  depends  upon  uncertain  tradition,  and  which  owes 
its  interest  to  an  impulsive  imagination.  -  Its  authen- 
ticity is  established  beyond  controversy  by  the  papers 


which  accompany  it ;  and  it  derives  its  value  as  well 
from  our  knowledge  of  its  history,  as  from  its  associa- 
tion with  the  great  captain,  whose  days  of  toil  and 
nights  of  trouble  it  shared  and  witnessed,  and  who 
never  drew  it  from  its  scabbard  but  to  defend  the  honor 
and  the  interests  of  his  country. 

This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to  portray  those 
great  traits  of  character  which  gave  to  General  Jack- 
son the  ascendency  that  no  man  ever  denied,  who 
approached  him,  and  that  wonderful  influence  with  his 
countrymen  which  marked  almost  his  whole  course, 
from  his  entrance  upon  a  public  career  till  the  grave 
closed  upon  his  life  and  his  labors,  and  left  him  to  that 
equality  which  the  mighty  and  the  lowly  must  find  at 
last.  Still,  from  my  personal  and  official  relations  with 
him — and  I  trust  I  may  add  from  his  friendship  towards 
me,  of  which  I  had  many  proofs — I  cannot  withhold  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  impression  which  his  high  qual- 
ities made  upon  me,  and  which  becomes  more  lasting 
and  profound,  as  time  is  doing  its  work  of  separation 
from  the  days  of  my  intercourse  with  him. 

I  have  been  no  careless  observer  of  the  men  of  my 
time,  who,  controlled  by  events,  or  controlling  them, 
have  stood  prominent  among  them,  and  will  occupy 
distinguished  positions  in  the  annals  of  the  age ;  and 
circumstances  have  extended  my  opportunities  of  exam- 
ination to  the  Old  World,  as  well  as  to  the  New.  But 
I  say,  and  with  a  deep  conviction  of  its  truth,  that  I 


have  never  Been  brought  into  contact  with  a  man  who 
possessed  more  native  sagacity,  more  profundity  of  in- 
tellect, higher  powers  of  observation  or  greater  probity 
of  purpose,  more  ardor  of  patriotism,  nor  more  firm- 
ness of  resolution,  after  he  had  surveyed  his  position 
and  occupied  it,  than  the  lamented  subject  of  this  fee- 
ble tribute,  not  to  him,  but  to  truth.  And  I  will  add, 
that,  during  the  process  of  determination  upon  import- 
ant subjects,  he  was  sometimes  slow,  and  generally 
cautious  and  inquiring,  and,  he  has  more  than  once  told 
me,  anxious  and  uneasy,  not  seldom  passing  the  night 
without  sleep;  but  he  was  calm  in  his  mind,  and  inflexi- 
ble in  his  will,  when  reflection  had  given  place  to  de- 
cision. The  prevailing  opinion  that  he  was  rash  and 
hasty  in  his  conclusions  is  founded  upon  an  erroneous 
impression  of  his  habits  of  thought  and  action ;  upon  a 
want  of  discrimination  between  his  conduct  before  and 
after  his  judgment  had  pronounced  upon  his  course. 

This  is  not  the  first  offering  of  a  similar  nature,  which 
has  been  laid  upon  the  altar  of  our  country  with  the 
sanction  of  the  legislative  department  of  the  govern- 
ment. Some  years  since,  another  precious  relic  was 
deposited  here — the  sword  of  him,  who,  in  life,  was  first 
in  the  affections  of  his  countrymen,  and  in  death  is  now 
the  first  in  their  memory.  I  need  not  name  his  name. 
It  is  written  in  characters  of  living  light  on  every  heart, 
and  springs  instinctively  to  every  tongue.  His  fame  is 
committed  to  time,  his  example  to  mankind,  and  him- 


self,  we  may  humbly  hope,  to  the  reward'of  the  right- 
eous. When  centuries  shall  have  passed  over  us, 
bringing  with  them  the  mutations  that  belong  to  the 
lapse  of  ages,  and  our  country  shall  yet  be  fulfilling, 
or  shall  have  fulfilled,  her  magnificent  destiny — for 
good,  I  devoutly  hope,  and  not  for  evil — pilgrims  from 
our  ocean  coasts  and  our  inland  seas,  and  from  the  vast 
regions  which  now  separate,  but  before  long  by  our 
wonderful  progress  must  unite  them,  will  come  up  to 
the  high  places  of  our  land,  consecrated  by  days  and 
deeds  of  world- wide  renown ;  and,  turning  aside  to  the 
humble  tomb,  dearer  than  this  proud  Capitol,  they  will 
meditate  upon  the  eventful  history  of  their  country, 
and  will  recall  the  example  while  they  bless  the  name 
of  WASHINGTON. 

And,  on  the  same  occasion,  was  presented  the  cane 
of  FRANKLIN,  which  was  deposited  in  our  national 
archives  with  the  sword  of  his  friend  and  co-laborer  in 
the  great  cause  of  human  rights.  Truly  and  beauti- 
fully has  it  been  said,  that  peace  hath  its  victories  as 
well  as  war.  And  n  ver  was  nobler  conquest  won  than 
that  achieved  by  the  American  apprentice,  printer, 
author,  statesman,  ambassador,  philosopher,  and,  better 
than  all,  model  of  common  sense,  over  one  of  the  most 
powerful  elements  in  the  economy  of  nature,  subduing 
its  might  to  his  own,  and  thus  enabling  man  to  answer 
the  sublime  interrogatory  addressed  to  Job,  "Canst 
thou  send  lightnings  that  they  may  go  and  say  unto 


8 

thee,  Here  we  are?"  Yes;  they  now  come  at  our  com- 
mand, and  say,  Here  we  are,  ready  to  do  your  work. 
And  it  was  our  illustrious  countryman  who  first  opened 
the  way  for  this  subjugation  of  the  fire  of  heaven  to 
the  human  will.  The  staff  that  guided  the  steps  of 
FRANKLIN,  and  the  sword  that  guarded  the  person  of 
WASHINGTON,  may  well  occupy  the  same  repository, 
under  the  care  of  the  nation  they  served  and  loved  and 
honored. 

And  now  another  legacy  of  departed  greatness, 
another  weapon  from  the  armory  of  patriotism,  comes 
to  claim  its  place  in  the  sanctuary  assigned  to  its  pre- 
decessor, and  to  share  with  it  the  veneration  of  the 
country,  in  whose  defence  it  was  wielded. 

The  memorial  of  the  first  and  greatest  of  our  Chief 
Magistrates,  and  this  memorial  of  his  successor  in  the 
administration  of  the  government,  and  second  only  to 
him  in  the  gratitude  and  affections  of  the  American 
people,  will  lie  side  by  side,  united  tokens  of  patriotic 
self-devotion  and  of  successful  military  prowess,  though 
they  who  bore  them  and  gave  them  value  by  their  ser- 
vices are  now  tenants  of  distant  and  lowly  graves,  sepa- 
rated by  mountains,  and  rivers,  and  valleys.  And  in  ages 
shut  out  from  our  vision  by  the  far  away  future,  when  re- 
mote generations,  heirs  of  our  heritage  of  freedom,  but 
succeeding  to  it  without  the  labor  and  the  privations 
of  acquisition,  shall  gaze  (as  they  will  gaze)  upon  these 
testimonials  of  victories,  time-worn  but  time-honored, 


9 

they  will  be  carried  back  by  association  to  those  heroes 
of  early  story,  and  will  find  their  love  of  country 
strengthened,  and  their  pride  in  her  institutions  and 
their  confidence  in  her  fate  and  fortunes  increased,  by 
this  powerful  faculty  of  the  mind — a  faculty  which  en- 
ables us  to  triumph  over  the  distant  and  the  future,  as 
well  as  over  the  stern  realities  of  the  present,  gathering 
around  us  the  mighty  dead  and  the  mighty  deeds  that  ex- 
cite the  admiration  of  mankind,  and  will  ever  command 
their  respect  and  gratitude.  And  thus  will  communion 
be  held  with  the  great  leaders  of  our  country,  in  war 
and  in  peace,  who  wore  these  swords  in  their  service, 
and  hallowed  them  by  their  patriotism,  their  valor,  and 
success. 

I  will  now  read  to  the  Senate  two  letters  connected 
with  the  circumstance  of  this  presentation — one  from 
Mr.  Nicholson,  and  the  other  from  Mr.  Vaulx,  the  son- 
in-law  of  the  late  General  Armstrong : 

Letter  from  Joseph  Vaulx. 

NASHVILLE,  February  7,  1855. 

DEAR  SIR:  Doctor  W.  S.  McNairy  left  here  a  few  days  ago 
for  Washington,  having  in  charge  the  sword  that  General 
Jackson  before  his  death  gave  to  General  Armstrong.  The 
Doctor  was  requested  by  William  M.  Armstrong  (in  whose 
keeping  it  had  been  left  by  his  father)  to  hand  it  over  to 
you  on  his  arrival  in  Washington.  You,  I  believe,  were 
present  at  the  time  General  Armstrong  had  the  honor  of 


10 

having  it  presented  to  him  by  his  distinguished  friend.  It 
is  the  sword  worn  by  General  Jackson  in  his  various  cam- 
paigns and  during  the  whole  time  he  remained  in  the  mili- 
tary service  of  his  country.  It  is,  therefore,  justly  regarded 
as  a  relic  of  great  value.  It  was  General  Armstrong's  wish 
that  it  should  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Congress,  or  the 
government,  with  a  view  to  its  being  deposited  in  a  suitable 
place,  where,  doubtless,  millions  of  General  Jackson's  ad- 
miring countrymen  will  in  time  to  come  gladly  look  on  it 
as  the  war-sword  of  one  whose  brilliant  services  in  the  cause 
of  his  country  place  his  name  in  bold  relief  on  the  historic 
page  of  our  beloved  country. 

No  person,  I  believe,  would  have  been  preferred  to  your- 
self by  General  Armstrong  as  the  medium  for  presenting  the 
sword  to  Congress,  or  the  government ;  which,  at  the  request 
of  his  son,  you  will  please  do  in  such  terms  as  you  may  deem 
proper. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  VAULX. 

Hon.  A.  0.  P.  NICHOLSON. 


Letter  from  A.  0.  P.  Nicholson. 

WASHINGTON,  February  13,  1855. 

DEAR  SIR:  A  short  time  before  the  death  of  General  Jack- 
son, I  received  a  note  from  him  inviting  me  to  visit  him  for 
a  special  purpose.  I  did  so,  and  found  that,  amongst  other 
things,  he  desired  to  put  into  my  hands  the  sword  which  he 
had  used  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  for  the  purpose  of 
delivering  it  to  the  late  General  Kobert  Armstrong,  as  a 


11 

testimonial  of  warm  personal  friendship,  and  as  an  evidence 
of  his  high  appreciation  of  his  military  services  and  his 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  honor  of  his  country.  I  delivered 
the  sword  as  requested,  and  it  was  kept  by  General  Arm- 
strong during  his  life.  Since  his  death,  his  family  have  con- 
cluded that  the  most  proper  disposition  they  could  make  of 
it  would  he  to  present  it  to  Congress,  to  he  kept  as  a  per- 
petual memento  of  the  brilliant  achievement  with  which  it 
is  connected.  For  this  purpose  the  sword  has  been  forwarded 
to  me  with  the  request  that  I  would  present  it  to  Congress 
in  the  name  of  General  Armstrong's  family.  It  has  occurred 
to  me  that  I  could  not  more  appropriately  discharge  this 
trust  than  to  place  the  sword  in  your  hands,  and  to  ask  that 
you  will  present  it  in  such  way  as  you  may  deem  most  pro- 
per. The  known  relations,  in  public  and  private,  between 
General  Jackson  and  yourself,  as  well  as  your  constant  friend- 
ship for  General  Armstrong,  seem  to  me  to  render  it  emi- 
nently fit  that  the  presentation  should  be  made  by  you.  I 
therefore  place  the  sword  at  your  disposal,  and  respectfully 
request  that  you  would  undertake  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of 
the  donors. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

A.  0.  P.  NICHOLSON. 
Gen.  LEWIS  CASS. 


Mr.  BELL,  of  Tennessee: 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  am  fully  aware  that,  in  undertaking 
to  accompany  the  offer  of  the  resolution  which  I  pro- 
pose to  send  to  the  Chair  with  any  remarks  upon  the 


12 

public  services  and  character  of  the  illustrious  man 
whose  name  and  whose  memory  have  been  so  elo- 
quently and  appropriately  brought  to  our  notice  by 
the  distinguished  Senator  from  Michigan,  I  assume  an 
office  of  great  delicacy,  and  one  wftich  I,  especially, 
may  well  have  some  distrust  of  my  ability  to  perform 
in  a  proper  and  satisfactory  manner ;  yet,  as  the  senior 
representative  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  in  the  Senate, 
I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline  it. 

In  what  I  propose  to  say,  I  must  tread  with  caution 
and  reserve,  or  not  at  all,  upon  grounds  on  which  the 
fires  of  political  controversy  raged  with  such  fierceness 
at  a  period  so  recent  that  the  embers  yet  smoulder,  and 
may  not  prudently  be  disturbed. 

In  the  great  drama  of  aifairs  now  being  enacted  on 
this  continent,  the  opening  act  of  which  was  the  Revo, 
lution — the  closing  scenes,  I  trust,  will  be  in  the  far, 
far  future — Andrew  Jackson  was,  in  his  day,  a  great 
and  successful  actor.  Whatever  difference  of  opinion 
may  have  existed  among  his  contemporaries  of  the 
merit  of  some  parts  of  his  performance,  yet,  as  a  whole, 
it  received  the  plaudits  of  his  countrymen,  and  a  large 
proportion  of  them  pronounced  it  masterly  throughout. 

General  Jackson  possessed  rare  endowments,  and 
was,  indeed,  one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most  remark- 
able man  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  With  but  slight 
and  indifferent  mental  or  professional  training  and  dis- 
cipline in  early  life,  so  generally  regarded  as  important, 


13 

if  not  essential,  to  eminent  success  in  either  of  the  two 
great  departments  of  human  effort — the  civil  and  the 
military — yet,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  military  career, 
he  exhibited  talents  for  command  of  a  high  order,  and 
in  less  than  three  years,  by  his  brilliant  achievements, 
established  his  reputation  as  the  first  military  chief  of 
the  country.  But  this  is  not  all.  Retiring  from  the 
army  when  there  appeared  to  be  no  further  demand 
for  active  service,  he  was  in  a  few  years  thereafter  ele- 
vated to  the  highest  civil  station  under  the  national 
government ;  and  for  eight  successive  years  he  wielded 
the  power  and  influence  of  his  position,  as  Executive 
Chief,  with  such  vigor  and  address,  that  he  was  sus- 
tained in,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  out,  all  the  great 
measures  of  his  administration — some  of  them  present- 
ing questions  of  the  gravest  nature,  and  giving  rise  to 
the  most  intense  excitement — and  this,  too,  in  the  face 
of  an  opposition  combining  an  amount  of  ability,  elo- 
quence, skill,  and  experience  in  affairs,  in  both  houses 
of  Congress,  but  more  especially  in  the  Senate,  greater 
than  was  ever  witnessed  before  or  since.  The  jars  and 
contentions  between  those  great  moral  elements  were, 
sometimes,  such  as  shook  the  whole  country. 

A  man  who,  having  addicted  his  early  manhood 
mainly  to  the  pursuits  of  private  life,  without  any  ap- 
preciable culture  or  experience  in  public  affairs,  could 
thus,  when  there  arose  a  public  exigency  of  sufficient 
urgency  to  induce  him  to  enter  the  public  service,  per 


14 

saltum,  as  it  were,  raise  himself  to  the  first  rank  as  a 
military  leader,  and  then,  for  so  long  a  period,  as  Chief 
Magistrate  of  a  great  and  free  country,  thus  direct  and 
control  its  civil  administration,  must  be  allowed  to  have 
possessed  great  capacity. 

His  was  no  negative  or  unmarked  career — no  meteor- 
like  appearance  upon  the  great  theatre  of  affairs,  to 
blaze  and  dazzle  for  a  moment,  and  then  pass  away 
forever ;  but,  both  as  a  military  commander  and  a  civil 
chief,  he  left  his  impress  upon  his  country  and  its  in- 
stitutions deep,  striking,  and  indelible. 

It  would  be  idle  to  assume,  as  some  have  done, 
that  General  Jackson  was  indebted  alone,  or  chiefly,  to 
fortune  and  adventitious  circumstances  for  his  extraor- 
dinary success.  He  was  such  a  man,  Mr.  President,  as 
when  he  had  once  attained  position,  had  the  faculty  of 
creating  the  circumstances,  if  he  needed  them,  neces- 
sary to  further  and  continued  successes.  Posterity  will 
inquire,  with  eager  curiosity,  the  secret  of  his  amazing 
success — the  distinctive  traits  of  mind  and  of  personal 
character  by  which  he  achieved  it ;  some  of  which  they 
will  probably  seek  in  vain  in  the  pages  of  contemporary 
history. 

General  Jackson  had  what  may  be  called  an  intuitive 
perception  of  the  passions  and  interests  by  which  the 
mass  of  mankind  are  controlled.  He  was  a  shrewd 
observer  of  individual  character,  and  he  was  seldom 
mistaken  in  his  estimate  of  the  men  with  whom  he 


16 

associated  as  friends  or  came  in  contact  with  as  oppo- 
nents. He  was  devoted  to  his  friends ;  and  the  more 
others  opposed  or  denounced  them,  the  more  deter- 
mined he  became  to  sustain  them,  and  never  cast  them 
off  until  they  arrayed  themselves  in  open  opposition  to 
his  plans  and  wishes.  Nor  was  he  deficient  in  courtesy 
to  opponents — not  personal  enemies — and  could  even 
court  them  when  he  desired  or  needed  their  support, 
but  never  by  fawning  or  unmanly  appeals. 

His  self-reliance  was  wonderful.  He  never  despaired 
of  his  fortune.  As  the  obstacles  to  the  success  of  any 
favorite  scheme  of  policy  multiplied,  and  the  storm  of 
opposition  was  wildest,  it  was  then  that  one  of  his  most 
striking  traits  was  exhibited.  He  became  the  soul,  the 
animating  principle,  of  his  followers;  revived  their  faint- 
ing courage,  re-inspired  their  confidence  in  his  infalli- 
bility, and  cheered  them  on  to  renewed  and  more 
vigorous  efforts. 

When  the  emergency  required  it,  no  man  was  more 
prompt  in  coming  to  a  decision.  When  the  question 
presented  difficulties,  and  admitted  of  deliberation,  he 
counselled  with  his  friends.  When  his  own  conviction 
was  clear,  he  seldom  deferred  to  the  views  of  others ; 
and  when  he  once  decided  upon  his  course,  he  was 
inflexible  and  immovable.  He  was,  emphatically  and 
truly,  a  man  of  stern  resolve  and  iron  will ;  and,  when 
opposition  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes  ap- 
peared formidable  and  discouraging,  he  was  apt  to 


16 

become  impatient  of  the  restraints  and  trammels  of 
official  and  customary  routine.  He  had  the  courage, 
both  moral  and  physical,  to  dare  and  to  do  whatever 
he  thought  proper  and  necessary  to  the  successful  issue 
of  whatever  he  had  resolved  upon.  He  was  withal  a 
patriot,  devoted  to  the  honor,  dignity,  and  glory  of  his 
country ;  and  he  had  the  faculty  of  persuading  himself 
that  whatever  measure  or  course  of  policy,  either  in 
peace  or  in  war,  he  resolved  upon,  and  strongly  desired 
to  accomplish,  was  proper  and  necessary  to  the  public 
welfare. 

No  man  since  the  days  of  Washington  was  more  de- 
voted to  the  union  of  these  States,  or  would  have  more 
cheerfully  laid  down  his  life  to  defend  and  uphold  it, 
than  Andrew  Jackson. 

Many  have  supposed  that  General  Jackson  was  often 
controlled  by  passion  and  resentment,  and  that  he  some- 
times embraced  measures  and  engaged  in  enterprises 
without  any  calculation  of  the  chances  of  success  or 
defeat,  and  reckless  of  both.  There  never  was  a  greater 
mistake.  This  was  the  error  into  which  the  great  op- 
ponents of  his  measures  and  policy  in  the  Senate  fell ; 
and  the  event  showed  that  he  had  estimated  the  ele- 
ments of  his  power  and  the  true  sources  of  his  strength 
with  greater  sagacity  than  themselves. 

When  General  Jackson  made  his  first  essay  in  the  art 
of  war,  and  led  the  Tennessee  volunteers  against  a  wily 
foe,  formidable  from  their  numbers  and  mode  of  war- 


17 

fare,  many  careless  observers  of  his  early  career  had 
their  misgivings  that  a  rash  valor  and  his  eager  desire 
to  distinguish  himself  in  arms  might  result  in  disaster 
and  the  unnecessary  sacrifice  of  his  men ;  but  they  were 
soon  undeceived.  Those  who  knew  him  best,  and  knew 
him  well,  never  had  any  distrust  of  his  discretion  as  a 
military  commander. 

But  his  qualities  as  a  general,  and  his  powers  of  com- 
bination in  conducting  the  operations  of  an  army,  were 
best  illustrated  and  put  to  the  severest  test  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1814-' 15  in  the  South.  It  was  then  that  ample 
scope  was  given  him  for  the  exercise  of  his  genius  and 
capacity  for  military  command. 

In  1814  Great  Britain,  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
French  Emperor,  found  herself  in  a  condition  to  em- 
ploy the  whole  of  her  great  naval  and  military  resources 
in  an  effort  to  humble  or  to  crush  the  United  States. 
The  first  blow  fell  upon  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake. 
The  seat  of  the  national  government  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  blackened  walls  of  the  Capitol 
gave  warning  of  the  ruthless  spirit  with  which  the  war 
was  thenceforth  to  be  conducted.  This  wound  to  the 
national  pride  was  inflicted  at  a  time  when  the  public 
finances  and  the  public  credit  were  at  the  lowest  ebb. 
The  recruiting  service  went  on  sluggishly,  and  gave 
no  promise  of  an  adequate  increase  of  the  regular  army ; 
and  the  whole  of  our  extended  and  almost  defenceless 

seacoast  was  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  enemy. 
2 


18 

Rumors  soon  after  reached  the  country  that  a  still  more 
formidable  armament  was  to  make  a  descent  upon  our 
shores ;  but  where  the  storm  would  burst,  there  was  no 
clue  to  determine.  Afterwards  a  general  gloom,  not 
without  some  admixture  of  despondency,  then  hung 
over  the  country. 

At  a  later  date  it  became  manifest  that  the  Gulf  coast 
was  to  be  the  scene  of  operations.  Every  day  the 
gathering  clouds  of  war  in  that  quarter  became  darker 
and  more  portentous.  Still,  it  was  uncertain  upon  what 
particular  point  the  bolt  would  fall ;  but  wherever  it 
might  fall  on  that  coast,  it  was  certain  that  it  would  be 
in  the  military  department,  the  protection  and  defence 
of  which  was  assigned  to  General  Jackson.  All  eyes 
and  hopes  were  now  turned  upon  him.  He  had  already 
exhibited  such  uncommon  energy,  skill,  and  intrepidity, 
in  his  conduct  of  the  war  against  the  Creek  Indians,  as 
to  inspire  some  confidence,  when  there  seemed  to  be 
scarcely  ground  for  hope.  It  was  known  that  he  had 
no  army  in  the  field,  save  two  or  three  regiments  of 
regulars,  and  a  single  regiment  of  mounted  Tennessee 
volunteers,  and  that  there  were  no  adequate  supplies, 
either  of  provisions  or  munitions  of  war,  at  any  point 
in  his  command  for  conducting  military  operations  upon 
a  large  scale ;  but  never  was  confidence  so  well  repaid. 
Hisx  energy  and  discretion,  and  the  confidence  he  in- 
spired, supplied  every  deficiency. 

When  it  became  evident  that  New  Orleans  was  to  be 


19 

the  point  of  attack,  and  that  the  hostile  armament  had 
made  its  appearance  off  the  Gulf  coast,  he  called  upon 
the  authorities  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to  send  for- 
ward their  contingents  of  militia  and  volunteers  with 
all  despatch,  as  the  enemy  was  approaching.  Upon  the 
States  threatened  with  invasion  he  urged  the  employ- 
ment of  all  their  energies  and  resources  to  be  in  readi- 
ness to  meet  the  foe.  He  called,  in  strains  of  inspiring 
eloquence,  upon  the  free  colored  inhabitants  of  Louisi- 
ana to  protect  their  native  soil  from  invasion  and  pol- 
lution by  a  foreign  foe.  He  offered  pardon  and  invoked 
the  very  pirates  who  infested  the  neighboring  coast  to 
the  rescue. 

By  these  energetic  steps,  General  Jackson  found  as- 
sembled around  him  a  force  of  five  thousand  men,  of 
all  arms — all,  save  two  regiments  of  the  regular  army, 
being  volunteers  and  militia-men — and  with  this  hastily- 
assembled  army,  on  the  8th  of  January,  he  met,  and,  in 
a  sanguinary  battle,  overcame  more  than  double  their 
number  of  veteran  troops,  led  by  experienced  generals, 
flushed  with  recent  victory  on  the  battle-fields  of  Eu- 
rope, and  closed  the  war  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 

Mr.  President,  the  sword  worn  by  the  victor  on  that 
day,  the  man  of  stern  resolve  and  iron  will,  when  gazed 
upon  in  unborn  ages,  will  send  a  thrill  through  the 
heart  of  every  true  American. 

I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Senate  to  intro- 
duce "a  joint  resolution  accepting  the  sword  of  General 


20 

Andrew  Jackson,  and  returning  the  thanks  of  Congress 
to  the  family  of  the  late  General  Robert  Armstrong." 

Unanimous  consent  was  given,  and  the  joint  resolution 
was  read  twice,  and  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the 
"Whole.  It  is  as  follows: 

Resolved  ly  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
the  thanks  of  this  Congress  be  presented  to  the  family  of  the 
late  General  Robert  Armstrong  for  the  present  of  the  sword 
worn  by  General  Andrew  Jackson  while  in  the  military 
service  of  his  country ;  and  that  this  precious  relic  be  hereby 
accepted  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  and  be  deposited,  for 
safe-keeping,  in  the  Department  of  State ;  and  that  a  copy 
of  this  resolution  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the  late 
General  Robert  Armstrong. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without 
amendment,,  and  ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading. 
It  was  read  the  third  time,  and  passed. 

Mr.  GWIN  submitted  the  following;  which  was  considered 
by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to : 

Ordered,  That  the  addresses  of  Mr.  CASS  and  Mr.  BELL  be 
entered  on  the  journal ;  that  the  resolution  and  the  sword 
be  taken  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  Secretary, 
with  a  request  that  the  House  will  concur  in  the  said  resolu- 
tion. 


21 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 
MONDAY,  February  26, 1855. 

A  message  was  received  from  the  Senate,  by  ASBURY 
DICKINS,  esq. ,  their  Secretary,  notifying  the  House  that  that 
body  had  passed  a  resolution  accepting  the  sword  of  General 
ANDREW  JACKSON,  and  returning  the  thanks  of  Congress  to 
the  family  of  General  Eobert  Armstrong  therefor, 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  Tennessee : 

I  ask  that  the  House  do  now  proceed  to  the  consider- 
ation of  the  resolution  just  brought  to  us  from  the 
Senate. 

Mr.  STANTON,  of  Kentucky: 

As  the  ceremony  of  presentation  is  to  be  an  inte- 
resting one,  and  there  are  a  great  many  ladies  who 
desire  to  be  present,  and  are  unable  to  get  in  the  gal- 
leries, I  move  that  the  rules  be  suspended,  and  that  the 
ladies  be  admitted  upon  the  floor  on  the  occasion. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to ;  the  doors  were  thrown  open, 
and  a  large  number  of  ladies  were  admitted. 
The  joint  resolution  was  read  as  follows: 

A  RESOLUTION  to  accept  the  sword  of  General  Andrew  Jackson,  and  return- 
ing the  thanks  of  Congress  to  the  family  of  the  late  General  Robert  Arm- 
strong. 

Eesolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Congress  be  presented 
to  the  family  of  the  late  General  Eobert  Armstrong  for  the 
present  of  the  sword  worn  by  General  Andrew  Jackson 
while  in  the  service  of  his  country,  and  that  this  precious 


22 

relic  be  hereby  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  and  be 
deposited  for  safe-keeping  in  the  Department  of  State,  and 
that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  presented  to  the  family  of 
the  late  General  Eobert  Armstrong. 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  Tennessee,  rose  and  addressed  the  House  as 
follows  : 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  In  asking  the  consideration  of  the 
resolution  just  read,  justice  to  the  occasion  requires 
a  few  remarks  from  me,  and  I  only  regret  that  this 
responsibility  had  not  devolved  upon  some  one  more 
capable  than  myself  of  performing  so  important  a  duty. 

In  all  ages  and  in  all  countries  it  has  been  customary 
to  commemorate  the  deeds  of  illustrious  men.  Paint- 
ing, poetry,  and  sculpture  have  been  brought  into 
requisition  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  their  achieve- 
ments, and  to  keep  alive  in  the  hearts  of  the  young,  ven- 
eration for  their  ancestors  and  pride  of  country. 

'Every  Capitol  in  Christendom  is  adorned  with  monu- 
ments erected  to  the  brave  an<^  wise  who  have,  by 
counsel  or  deeds,  given  direction  to  the«policy  or  illus- 
trated the  pages  of  their  country's  history.  Their  mu- 
seums are  filled  with  relics,  which,  from  their  intimate 
personal  association  with  the  gallant  dead,  ever  keep 
vividly  before  the  mind  their  public  acts  and  private 
virtues.  These  teach  lessons  as  impressive  as  towering 
monuments  or  glowing  canvas. 

Brief  as  our  existence  has  been,  the  history  of  no 
nation  on  earth  has  been  so  fruitful  of  stirring  incidents — 


23 

incidents  which  have  had  an  influence  not  only  upon 
our  own  land,  but  upon  the  civilized  world.  The 
painter's  art  has  adorned  the  walls  of  our  Capitol  with 
representations  of  some  of  the  most  important  of  these 
events.  Here  we  have  the  first  grand  scene  of  our 
Revolution,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  upon  which 
no  American  can  look  without  experiencing  feelings  of 
the  most  ennobling  character.  The  very  features  are 
preserved  of  the  statesmen  who  proclaimed  doctrines 
which  startled  the  world  from  its  long  lethargic  sleep, 
revived  again  the  spirit  of  Sydney  and  of  Hampden,  and 
gave  the  first  just  conception  of  the  true  dignity  and 
capacity  of  man.  Their  voices  are  all  hushed  in  death; 
but  the  echo  of  the  appeal  of  1776  still  lives,  and  is 
reverberating  throughout  the  earth,  making  strong  the 
arms  and  hearts  of  those  who  for  their  rights  and  liber- 
ties would  proudly  welcome  death  and  the  grave. 

With  what  glowing  pride  do  we  look  upon  the  battle- 
scenes  here  portrayed! — battles  fought,  not  to  further 
the  schemes  of  ambition,  but  in  defence  of  freedom  and 
universal  humanity.  No  enslaved  people  have  bewailed 
the  triumphs  of  our  warriors,  but  the  whole  earth  has 
arisen  and  pronounced  them  blessed. 

The  battles  and  victories  which  the  artist  has  here 
celebrated  were  still  fresh  and  green  in  the  memory  of 
the  people,  when  the  nation  was  again  called  to  arms 
to  vindicate  its  honor  and  the  rights  of  man.  Many  of 
the  leading  spirits  of  the  Revolution  still  lived.  Upon 


24 

some  the  palsying  hand  of  time  had  been  heavily  laid ; 
but  in  their  hearts  the  love  of  country  and  the  fires  of 
patriotism  still  brightly  burned.  They  urged  the  young 
to  the  conflict.  The  voice  of  Jefferson  rang  through  the 
land,  cheering  the  brave,  nerving  the  arms  of  the  timid, 
and  giving  hope  and  courage  to  the  hearts  of  all.  The 
warriors  of  the  Revolution  who  still  retained  their  vigor 
buckled  on  their  armor  for  the  conflict.  Conspicuous 
among  these  were  Yan  Rensselaer  of  New  York,  Smith 
of  Maryland,  and  Jackson  of  Tennessee.  Our  country- 
men, under  the  lead  of  their  gallant  commanders,  tri- 
umphed upon  the  land  and  upon  the  sea,  and  estab- 
lished forever  our  rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
The  actors  in  these  scenes  are  fast  passing  away.  But 
few  of  the  gallant  leaders  in  this  glorious  war  still  sur- 
vive ;  and  they  are  verging  upon  their  three  score  and 
ten,  and  must  soon  be  gathered  to  their  fathers.  Duty, 
gratitude,  and  patriotism  should  prompt  us  to  collect 
trophies  of  their  victories,  and  garner  up  memorials 
which  will  speak  to  future  generations  of  their  great- 
ness and  patriotism,  and  which  will  keep  the  memory 
of  their  deeds  of  noble  daring  alive  forever  in  the  heart 
of  the  nation. 

Not  long  before  the  death  of  that  distinguished  chief- 
tain, Andrew  Jackson,  he  placed  the  sword  he  had 
worn  in  all  of  his  battles  in  the  war  of  1812  in  the 
hands  of  a  friend  to  be  delivered  to  his  compatriot  in 
arms,  the  late  General  Robert  Armstrong,  who  had  in 


25 

an  eminent  degree  commanded  his  respect  and  enjoyed 
his  confidence.  These  two  lamented  patriots  had  shared 
together  the  hardships  of  the  camp  and  the  dangers  of 
the  battle-field ;  and  the  bestowal  of  this  relic  by  the 
illustrious  hero  was  a  fit  testimonial  of  his  apprecia- 
tion of  one  whose  courage  he  had  seen  tested  on  many 
a  bloody  field,  and  whose  patriotism  had  often  elicited 
the  warmest  gratitude  and  highest  applause  of  his 
countrymen. 

It  was  at  the  battle  of  Enotochopco  where  the  little 
army  commanded  by  Jackson  was  almost  surrounded 
by  the  enemy,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  conflict  General 
Armstrong  was  severely  wounded.  But  he  did  not  de- 
sert his  post,  and  when  unable  longer  to  wield  a  sword 
or  stand  upon  his  feet,  he  clung  to  a  small  tree  which 
stood  near  him,  and  cried:  "My  brave  fellows,  some 
may  fall,  but  save  the  cannon."  Such  bravery  elicited 
the  thanks  and  gratitude  of  his  commander,  and  made 
him  the  worthy  recipient  of  the  favorite  weapon  worn 
by  him  on  that  trying  occasion. 

The  family  of  General  Armstrong,  actuated  by  the 
patriotic  impulses  which  ever  characterized  their  sire, 
have  placed  this  sword  at  the  disposal  of  Congress.  It 
seems  tome  eminently  fit  that  it  should  become  the 
property  of  the  government,  and  be  placed  among  the 
trophies  of  our  victories  and  the  mementoes  of  our 
heroes ;  for  it  is  associated  with  the  names  of  two  of 
the  "  bravest  of  the  brave,"  and  with  battles  the  history 


26 

of  which  will  fill  the  brightest  pages  in  our  country's 
annals. 

In  moving  the  adoption  of  the  resolution  on  your 
table  accepting  the  sword,  I  do  not  feel  called  upon  to 
pronounce  a  eulogy  upon  General  Jackson.  He  needs 
it  not.  "  God  blessed  him  with  length  of  days,  and  he 
filled  them  with  deeds  of  glory,"  which  have  entered 
into  the  history  of  the  nation,  and  become  the  heritage 
of  his  countrymen. 

Mr.  ZOLLICOFFER,  of  Tennessee : 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  It  being  my  fortune  to  represent  the 
Hermitage  district — where  that  great  man  lived,  and 
where  his  remains  are  entombed — the  House  will  par- 
don me  for  briefly  giving  utterance  to  emotions  which 
fill  me  on  this  peculiar  occasion.  The  martial  renown 
of  Andrew  Jackson  has  become  national  property. 
But  it  must  be  allowed  to  Tennesseans  to  feel  more  than 
an  ordinary  interest  in  that  renown,  and  in  this  occasion. 
The  brave-hearted,  the  world  over,  I  apprehend,  pay 
to  his  heroic  spirit  their  true  homage ;  and  I  can  well 
imagine  that  even  the  boldest,  when  treading  the  paths 
of  danger,  walk  more  erect  and  confident  under  the 
broad  sun-light  of  his  chivalrous  history ;  yet  to  those 
who  were  his  neighbors  when  he  tenanted  the  Hermit- 
age, and  who  inhabit  the  mountains  and  the  valleys 
which  sent  forth  the  gallant  men  who  followed  and 
upheld  his  standard  in  all  his  victories — men  who  saw 
this  very  sword  unsheathed  on  all  his  brilliant  and 


27 

perilous  battle-fields — I  say,  sir,  to  such  a  people,  some- 
thing more  than  this  feeling  is  but  a  common  impulse 
of  that  human  nature  which  we  all  readily  comprehend. 
The  sons  of  those  gallant  men  are  the  present  young 
men  of  Tennessee.  As  these  young  men  catch  a  glimpse 
of  this  shining  blade,  passing  into  the  depository  of  the 
nation's  precious  relics,  how  can  it  be  otherwise  than 
that  their  hearts  will  throb  with  quickened  pulsations  of 
patriotic  State  and  national  pride  ?  Rest  assured,  sir, 
that  they  feel,  and  must  ever  feel,  a  lofty  and  commenda- 
ble State  pride  in  the  military  renown  and  unquestioned 
personal  heroism  of  Andrew  Jackson.  I  hesitate  not 
to  say,  sir,  that  this  feeling  has  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  full  development  of  that  chivalric  senti- 
ment which  has  ever  characterized  the  volunteer  troops 
of  Tennessee  when  their  country  has  demanded  their 
services  in  the  field. 

Allow  me  to  say,  sir,  that  I,  for  near  twenty  years, 
have  held  a  position  of  antagonism,  more  or  less,  to 
those  who  have  claimed  to  be  the  especial  political 
friends  of  General  Jackson,  and  in  that  State  our 
contests  have  been  sharp,  animated,  and  continuous, 
through  that  long  period.  I  mention  this  merely  by 
way  of  suggesting  that  the  sentiments  to  which  I  have 
given  utterance  are  expressed  with  the  more  freedom 
from  all  undue  partiality  or  bias.  They  are  sentiments 
such  as  I  feel  that  no  native  Tennessean,  and  I  trust 
no  citizen  of  any  other  State  in  our  glorious  confederacy, 


28 

can  fail  cordially  and  heartily  to  respond  to.  They 
should  be  held  in  common  by  the  whole  American 
people;  for  this  very  sword,  sir,  gleamed  over  that 
memorable  battle-field  of  which  every  citizen  of  the 
Union  is  so  justly  proud,  and  which  has  unquestionably 
given  a  more  world- wide  fame  to  American  prowess 
than  any  other  single  battle-field  which  has  ever 
emblazoned  the  bright  annals  of  American  warfare. 
Let  the  sword,  sir,  be  preserved,  and  transmitted  care- 
fully to  posterity.  Let  it  be  deposited  along  with  the 
sword  and  camp-chest  of  Washington,  and  tin  staff  and 
printing  press  of  Franklin,  among  the  most  precious 
relics  of  a  grateful  country,  preserved  and  cared  for  as 
high  incentives  to  the  honorable  ambition  of  American 
youth,  as  long  as  liberty  shall  have  a  home,  or  the 
Union  of  these  States  an  existence  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

But,  sir,  I  will  here  pause.  I  will  not  dwell  upon  a 
theme  which  has  already  been  enlarged  upon  by  others 
with  so  much  more  ability  than  I  possess.  I  will  tres- 
pass upon  the  valuable  time  of  the  House  only  for  a 
vmoment  longer.  I  cannot,  in  justice  to  my  own  feelings, 
withhold  a  brief  allusion  to  General  Robert  Armstrong, 
from  whose  family  this  present  is  received.  He  was 
my  neighbor  and  personal  friend.  The  confidence 
which  General  Jackson,  who  knew  him  so  long  and  so 
well,  reposed  in  the  sterling  qualities  of  his  heart  and 
head,  is  itself  a  sufficient  eulogy,  requiring  no  aid  from 


29 

anything  I  can  offer.  I  must,  however,  say  that  I  held 
him  to  be  one  of  the  bravest,  most  magnanimous,  and 
most  truly  kind-hearted  men  it  was  ever  my  good 
fortune  personally  to  know. 

In  conclusion,  I  need  hardly  add  that  I  take  it  for 
granted  the  resolution  will  be  sanctioned,  not  only 
unanimously,  but  with  the  most  cheerful  alacrity,  by 
every  American  representative. 

Mr.  BENTON,  of  Missouri: 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  The  manner  in  which  this  sword  has 
been  used  for  the  honor  and  benefit  of  the  countiy  is 
known  to  the  world ;  the  manner  in  which  the  privilege 
was  obtained  of  so  using  it  is  but  little  known,  even 
to  the  living  age,  and  must  be  lost  to  posterity  unless 
preserved  by  contemporaneous  history.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  well  worth  knowing,  in  order  to  show  what 
difficulties  talent  may  have  to  contend  with,  what  mis- 
takes governments  may  commit,  and  upon  what  chances 
and  accidents  it  may  depend  that  the  greatest  talent 
and  the  purest  patriotism  may  be  able  to  get  into  the 
service  of  its  country.  There  is  a  moral  in  such 
history  which  it  may  be  instructive  to  governments 
and  to  people  to  learn.  When  a  warrior  or  a  statesman 
is  seen,  in  the  midst  of  his  career  and  the  fullness  of 
his  glory,  showing  himself  to  be  in  his  natural  place, 
people  overlook  his  previous  steps  and  suppose  he  had 
been  called  by  a  general  voice,  by  wise  councils,  to  the 
fulfilment  of  a  natural  destiny.  In  a  few  instances  it 


30 

is  so ;  in  the  greater  part,  not.  In  the  greater  part 
there  is  a  toilsome,  uncertain,  discouraging,  and  morti- 
fying progress  to  be  gone  through  before  the  future 
resplendent  man  is  able  to  get  on  the  theatre  which  is 
to  give  him  the  use  of  his  talent.  So  it  was  with 
Jackson.  He  had  his  difficulties  to  surmount,  and  sur- 
mounted them.  He  conquered  savage  tribes  and  the 
conquerors  of  the  conquerors  of  Europe ;  but  he  had 
to  conquer  his  own  government  first,  and  did  it,  and 
that  was  for  him  the  most  difficult  of  the  two ;  for, 
while  his  military  victories  were  the  regular  result  of  a 
genius  for  war  and  brave  troops  to  execute  his  plans, 
enabling  him  to  command  success,  his  civil  victory  over 
his  own  government  was  the  result  of  chances  and 
accidents,  and  the  contrivances  of  others,  in  which  he 
could  have  but  little  hand  and  no  control.  I  proceed 
to  give  some  view  of  this  inside  and  preliminary  history, 
and  have  some  qualifications  for  the  task,  having  taken 
some  part,  though  not  great,  in  all  that  I  relate. 

Retired  from  the  United  States  Senate,  of  which  he 
had  been  a  member,  and  from  the  supreme  j  udicial 
bench  of  his  State,  on  which  he  had  sat  as  judge,  this 
future  warrior  and  President — and  alike  illustrious  in 
both  characters — was  living  upon  his  farm  on  the  banks 
of  the  Cumberland,  when  the  war  of  1812  broke  out. 
He  was  a  major  general  in  the  Tennessee  militia — the 
only  place  he  would  continue  to  hold,  and  to  which  he 
had  been  elected  by  the  contingency  of  one  vote,  so 


31 

close  was  the  chance  for  a  miss  in  this  first  step.  His 
friends  believed  that  he  had  military  genius,  and  pro- 
posed him  for  the  brigadier's  appointment  which  was 
allotted  to  the  West.  That  appointment  was  given  to 
another,  and  Jackson  remained  unnoticed  on  his  farm. 
Soon  another  appointment  of  general  was  allotted  to 
the  West.  Jackson  was  proposed  again;  and  was 
again  left  to  attend  to  his  farm.  Then  a  batch  of  gen- 
erals, as  they  were  called,  was  authorized  by  law — six 
at  a  time,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  Union;  and  then  his 
friends  believed  that  surely  his  time  had  come.  Not 
so  the  fact.  The  six  appointments  went  elsewhere,  and 
the  hero  patriot,  who  was  born  to  lead  armies  to  vic- 
tory, was  still  left  to  the  care  of  his  fields,  while  incom- 
petent men  were  leading  our  troops  to  defeat,  to 
captivity,  to  slaughter;  for  that  is  the  way  the  war 
opened.  The  door  to  military  service  seemed  to  be 
closed  and  barred  against  him;  and  was  so,  so  far  as 
the  government  was  concerned. 

It  may  be  wondered  why  this  repugnance  to  the 
appointment  of  Jackson,  who,  though  not  yet  greatly 
distinguished,  was  still  a  man  of  mark — had  been  a 
Senator  and  a  Supreme  judge,  and  was  still  a  major 
general,  and  a  man  of  tried  and  heroic  courage.  I  can 
tell  the  reason.  He  had  a  great  many  home  enemies, 
for  he  was  a  man  of  decided  temper;  had  a  great  many 
contests,  no  compromises;  always  went  for  a  clean 
victory  or  a  clean  defeat,  though  placable  after  the 


32 

contest  was  over.  That  was  one  reason,  but  not  the 
main  one.  The  administration  had  a  prejudice  against 
him  on  account  of  Colonel  Burr,  with  whom  he  had 
been  associated  in  the  American  Senate,  and  to  whom 
he  gave  a  hospitable  reception  in  his  house  at  the  time 
of  his  Western  expedition,  relying  upon  his  assurance 
that  his  designs  were  against  the  Spanish  dominion  in 
Mexico,  and  not  against  the  integrity  of  this  Union. 
These  were  some  of  the  causes,  not  all,  of  Jackson's 
rejection  from  Federal  military  employment. 

I  was  young  then,  and  one  of  his  aids,  and  believed  in 
his  military  talent  and  patriotism ;  was  greatly  attached 
to  him,  and  was  grieved  and  vexed  to  see  him  passed 
by  when  so  much  incompetence  was  preferred.  Besides, 
I  was  to  go  with  him,  and  his  appointment  would  be 
partly  my  own.  I  was  vexed,  as  were  all  his  friends; 
but  I  did  not  despair,  as  most  of  them  did.  I  turned 
from  the  government  to  ourselves,  to  our  own  resources, 
and  looked  to  the  chapter  of  accidents  to  turn  up  a 
chance  for  incidental  employment,  confident  that  he 
would  do  the  rest  for  himself  if  he  could  only  get  a 
start.  I  was  in  this  mood  in  my  office,  a  young  lawyer, 
with  more  books  than  briefs,  when  the  tardy  mail  of 
that  time,  one  "raw  and  gusty  day"  in  February,  1812, 
brought  an  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  President 
to  accept  organized  bodies  of  volunteers  to  the  extent 
of  fifty  thousand,  to  serve  for  one  year,  and  to  be  called 
into  service  when  some  emergency  should  require  it. 


33 

Here  was  a  chance.     I  knew  that  Jackson  could  raise 

a  general's  command,  and  I  trusted  to  events  for  him  to 
be  called  out,  and  felt  that  one  year  was  more  than 
enough  for  him  to  prove  himself.  I  drew  up  a  plan, 
rode  thirty  miles  to  his  house  that  same  raw  day  in 
February — rain,  hail,  sleet,  wind — and  such  roads  as  we 
then  had  there  in  winter,  deep  in  rich  mud  and  mixed 
with  ice.  I  arrived  at  the  Hermitage — a  name  then  but 
little  known — at  nightfall,  and  found  him  solitary,  and 
almost  alone,  but  not  quite;  for  it  was  the  evening, 
mentioned  in  the  "Thirty  Years'  View,"  when  I  found 
him  with  the  lamb  and  the  child  between  his  knees.  I 
laid  the  plan  before  him.  He  was  struck  with  it — 
adopted  it — acted  upon  it.  We  began  to  raise  volun- 
teer companies.  Whilst  this  was  going  on,  an  order  ar- 
rived from  the  War  Department  to  the  Governor  (Willie 
Blount)  to  detach  fifteen  hundred  militia  to  the  Lower 
Mississippi;  the  object  to  meet  the  British,  then  expected 
to  make  an  attempt  on  New  Orleans.  The  Governor 
was  a  friend  to  Jackson  and  to  his  country.  He  agreed 
to  accept  his  three  thousand  volunteers  instead  of  the 
fifteen  hundred  draughted  militia.  The  General  issued 
an  address  to  his  division.  I  galloped  to  the  muster- 
grounds  and  harangued  the  young  men.  The  success 
was  ample.  Three  regiments  were  completed — Coflee, 
William  Hall,  Benton,  the  colonels — and  in  December, 
1812,  we  descended  the  Cumberland  and  the  Mississippi 
in  a  fleet  of  flat-bottomed  boats,  and  landed  at  Natchez. 


34 

There  we  got  the  news  that  the  British  would  not  come 
that  winter — a  great  disappointment,  and  a  fine  chance 
lost. 

We  remained  in  camp,  six  miles  from  Natchez, 
waiting  ulterior  orders.  In  March  they  came — not 
orders  for  further  service,  or  even  to  return  home,  but 
to  disband  the  volunteers  where  they  were.  The  com- 
mand was  positive,  in  the  name  of  the  President,  and 
by  the  then  Secretary  at  War,  General  Armstrong.  I 
well  remember  the  day — Sunday  morning,  the  25th 
day  of  March,  1813.  The  first  I  knew  of  it  was  a 
message  from  the  General  to  come  to  him  at  his  tent; 
for  though,  as  colonel  of  a  regiment,  I  had  ceased  to  be 
aid,  yet  my  place  had  not  been  filled,  and  I  was  sent 
for  as  much  as  ever.  He  showed  me  the  order,  and 
also  his  character,  in  his  instant  determination  not  to 
obey  it,  but  to  lead  his  volunteers  home.  He  had 
sketched  a  severe  answer  to  the  Secretary,  and  gave 
it  to  me  to  copy  and  arrange  the  matter  of  it.  It 
was  very  severe.  I  tried  hard  to  get  some  parts  soft- 
ened, but  impossible.  I  have  never  seen  that  letter 
since,  but  would  know  it  if  I  should  meet  it  in  any 
form,  anywhere,  without  names.  I  concurred  with 
the  General  in  the  determination  to  take  home  our 
young  troops.  He  then  called  a  "council"  of  the  field- 
officers,  as  he  called  it ;  though  there  was  but  little  of 
the  council  in  it,  the  only  object  being  to  hear  his  de- 
termination and  take  measures  for  executing  it.  The 


35 

officers  were  unanimous  in  their  determination  to  sup- 
port him ;  but  it  was  one  of  those  cases  in  which  he 
would  have  acted  not  only  without,  but  against  a 
"council." 

The  officers  were  unanimous  and  vehement  in  their 
determination,  as  much  so  as  the  General  was  himself; 
for  the  volunteers  were  composed  of  the  best  young 
men  of  the  country — farmers'  sons,  themselves  clever 
young  men,  since  filling  high  offices  in  the  State  and 
the  Federal  Government — intrusted  to  these  officers  by 
their  fathers,  in  full  confidence  that  they  would  act  a 
father's  part  by  them;  and  the  recreant  thought  of 
turning  them  loose  on  the  Lower  Mississippi,  five  hun- 
dred miles  from  home,  without  the  means  of  getting 
home,  and  a  wilderness  and  Indian  tribes  to  traverse, 
did  not  find  a  moment's  thought  in  any  one's  bosom. 
To  carry  them  back  was  the  instant  and  indignant 
determination ;  but  great  difficulties  were  in  the  way. 
The  cost  of  getting  back  three  thousand  men  under 
such  circumstances  must  be  great ;  and  here  Jackson's 
character  showed  itself  again.  We  have  all  heard  of 
his  responsibilities — his  readiness  to  assume  political 
responsibility  when  the  public  service  required  it.  He 
was  now  equally  ready  to  take  responsibility  of  another 
kind — moneyed  responsibility,  and  that  beyond  the 
whole  extent  of  his  fortune!  He  had  no  military 
chest,  not  a  dollar  of  public  money;  and  three  thousand 
men  were  not  to  be  conducted  five  hundred  miles 


36 

through  a  wilderness  country  and  Indian  tribes  without 
a  great  outlay  of  money.  Wagons  were  wanted,  and 
many  of  them,  for  transport  of  provisions,  baggage, 
and  the  sick — so  numerous  among  new  troops.  He  had 
no  money  to  hire  teams ;  he  impressed ;  and  at  the  end 
of  the  service  gave  drafts  upon  the  quartermaster 
general  of  the  Southern  department  (General  Wilkin- 
son's) for  the  amount.  The  wagons  were  ten  dollars 
a  day,  coming  and  going.  They  were  numerous.  It 
was  a  service  of  two  months ;  the  amount  to  be  incurred 
was  great.  He  incurred  it,  and,  as  will  be  seen,  at 
imminent  risk  of  his  own  ruin.  This  assumption  on 
the  General's  part  met  the  first  great  difficulty;  but 
there  were  lesser  difficulties,  still  serious,  to  be  sur- 
mounted. The  troops  had  received  no  pay;  clothes 
and  shoes  were  worn  out ;  the  men  were  in  no  condition 
for  a  march  so  long,  and  so  exposed.  The  officers  had 
received  no  pay ;  did  not  expect  to  need  money ;  had 
made  no  provision  for  the  unexpected  contingency  of 
large  demands  upon  their  own  pockets  to  enable  them 
to  do  justice  to  their  men.  But  there  was  patriotism 
outside  of  the  camp  as  well  as  within.  The  merchants 
of  Natchez  put  their  stores  at  our  disposition ;  take 
what  we  needed ;  pay  when  convenient,  at  Nashville. 
I  will  name  one  among  these  patriotic  merchants — 
name  him  because  he  belongs  to  a  class  now  struck  at, 
and  because  I  do  not  ignore  a  friend  when  he  is  struck. 
Washington  Jackson  was  the  one  I  mean — Irish  by 


37 

birth ;  American  by  choice,  by  law,  and  feeling,  and 
conduct.  I  took  some  hundred  pairs  of  shoes  from  him 
for  iny  regiment,  and  other  articles;  and  I  proclaim 
it  here,  that  patriotic  men  of  foreign  birth  may  see 
that  there  are  plenty  of  Americans  to  recognise  their 
merit — to  name  them  with  honor  in  high  places,  and 
to  give  them  the  right  hand  of  friendship  when  they 
are  struck  at. 

We  all  returned,  were  discharged,  dispersed  among 
our  homes,  and  the  fine  chance  on  which  we  had  so 
much  counted  was  all  gone.  And  now  came  a  blow 
upon  Jackson  himself,  the  fruit  of  the  moneyed  respon- 
sibility which  he  had  assumed.  His  transportation 
drafts  were  all  protested ;  returned  upon  him  for  pay- 
ment, which  was  impossible,  and  with  directions  to  bring 
suit.  This  was  the  month  of  May.  I  was  coming  on 
to  Washington  on  my  own  account,  and  cordially  took 
charge  of  Jackson's  case.  Suits  were  delayed  until  the 
result  of  his  application  for  relief  could  be  heard.  I 
arrived  in  this  city ;  Congress  was  in  session — the  extra 
session  of  the  spring  and  summer  of  1813.  I  applied 
to  the  members  of  Congress  from  Tennessee;  they 
could  do  nothing.  I  applied  to  the  Secretary  at  War ; 
he  did  nothing.  Weeks  had  passed  away,  and  the  time 
for  delay  was  expiring  at  Nashville.  Ruin  seemed  to  be 
hovering  over  the  head  of  Jackson,  and  I  felt  the 
necessity  of  some  decisive  movement.  I  was  young 
then  and  had  some  material  in  me,  perhaps  some  bold- 

358679 


38 

ness,  and  the  occasion  brought  it  out.  I  resolved  to 
take  a  step,  characterized  in  the  letter  which  I  wrote  to 
the  General  as  "an  appeal  from  the  justice  to  the  fears 
of  the  Administration."  I  remember  the  words,  though 
I  have  never  seen  the  letter  since.  I  drew  up  a  memoir 
addressed  to  the  Secretary  at  War,  representing  to  him 
that  these  volunteers  were  drawn  from  the  bosoms  of 
almost  every  substantial  family  in  Tennessee ;  that  the 
whole  State  stood  by  Jackson  in  bringing  them  home, 
and  that  the  State  would  be  lost  to  the  Administration 
if  he  was  left  to  suffer.  It  was  upon  this  last  argument 
that  I  relied,  all  those  founded  in  justice  having  failed. 
It  was  of  a  Saturday  morning,  12th  of  June,  that  I 
carried  this  memoir  to  the  War  Office  and  delivered  it. 
Monday  morning  I  came  back  early  to  learn  the  result 
of  my  argument.  The  Secretary  was  not  yet  in.  I 
spoke  to  the  chief  clerk,  (then  the  afterwards  Adjutant 
General  Parker,)  and  inquired  if  the  Secretary  had  left 
any  answer  for  me  before  he  left  the  office  on  Saturday. 
He  said  no ;  but  that  he  had  put  the  memoir  in  his  side- 
pocket — the  breast-pocket — and  carried  it  home  with 
him,  saying  he  would  take  it  for  his  Sunday's  considera- 
tion. That  encouraged  me — gave  a  gleam  of  hope 
and  a  feeling  of  satisfaction.  I  thought  it  a  good  sub- 
ject for  his  Sunday's  meditation.  Presently  he  arrived. 
I  stepped  in  before  anybody  to  his  office.  He  told  me 
quickly  and  kindly  that  there  was  much  reason  in  what 
I  had  said,  but  that  there  was  no  way  for  him  to  do  it ; 


39 

that  Congress  would  have  to  give  the  relief.  I  an- 
swered him  that  I  thought  there  was  a  way  for  him  to 
do  it ;  it  was  to  give  an  order  to  General  Wilkinson's 
quartermaster  general  in  the  Southern  department  to 
pay  for  so  much  transportation  as  General  Jackson's 
command  would  have  been  entitled  to  if  it  had  returned 
under  regular  orders.  Upon  the  instant  he  took  up  a 
pen,  wrote  down  the  very  words  I  had  spoken,  directed 
a  clerk  to  put  them  into  form ;  and  the  work  was  done. 
The  order  went  off  immediately,  and  Jackson  was 
relieved  from  imminent  impending  ruin,  and  Tennessee 
remained  firm  to  the  Administration. 

Thus  this  case  of  responsibility  was  over,  but  the 
original  cause  of  our  concern  was  still  in  full  force. 
Jackson  was  again  on  his  farm,  unemployed,  and  the 
fine  chance  gone  which  had  flattered  us  so  much.  But 
the  chapter  of  accidents  soon  presented  another — not 
so  brilliant  as  New  Orleans  had  promised,  and  after- 
wards realized,  but  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  The 
massacre  at  Fort  Mimms  took  place.  The  banks  of 
the  Mobile  river  smoked  with  fire  and  blood.  Jackson 
called  up  his  volunteers,  reinforced  by  some  militia — 
marched  to  the  Creek  nation — and  there  commenced 
that  career  of  victories  which  soon  extorted  the  com- 
mission which  had  been  ^BO  long  denied  to  his  merit, 
and  which  ended  in  filling  the  "measure"  of  his  own 
and  "his  country's  glory."  And  that,  Mr.  Chairman, 
was  the  way  in  which  this  great  man  gained  the  privi- 


40 

lege  of  using  that  sword  for  his  country,  which,  after 
triumphing  in  many  fields  which  it  immortalized,  has 
come  here  to  repose  in  the  hands  of  the  representatives 
of  a  grateful  and  admiring  country. 

The  resolution  was  ordered  to  he  read  a  third  time ;  and 
being  read  a  third  time,  it  was  unanimously  passed. 


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